Media - Grammar and Lexical Devices

This section has been written by Anna Tomczak and is taken from the Newspapers unit in British Studies Materials for Polish Teachers of English British Council 2000. In this section you will find activities to practise this kind of language which we cannot publish here for copyright reasons - you will find the book in the British Studies Resource Points.

The headlines in English-language newspapers can be very difficult to understand. One reason for this is that newspaper headlines are often written in a special style, which is very different from ordinary English. In this style there are some special rules of grammar, and words are often used in unusual ways.

Grammar

Headlines may not be complete sentences. Many headlines consist of noun phrases with no verb e.g. More wage cuts; Holiday hotel death
They often leave out articles and the verb be e.g. Man walks on Moon; Shakespeare play immoral, says headmaster
The simple present tense is used instead of the present perfect or present continuous e.g. Blind girl climbs Everest (= has climbed); Students fight for changes (= are fighting)
The present continuous tense is used to talk about changes. The verb be is usually dropped e.g. Trade figures improving
Infinitives are used to refer to the future e.g. Hospitals to take fewer patients
Auxiliary verbs are usually dropped from passive structures e.g. Six killed in explosion (= Six people have been killed)

Vocabulary

· Short words save space so they are very common in newspaper headlines. Some of the short words in newspaper headlines are unusual in ordinary language, e.g. axe = abolish, close down (Small schools face axe); bid = attempt (New Everest bid); mar = spoil (Crowd violence mars Cup Final)

· Some words are chosen not because they are short, but because they sound dramatic, e.g. blaze = fire (Six die in hotel blaze); hit = affect badly (Snowstorms hit transport); rift = disagreement (Labour rift over defence policy)

· Abbreviations are used instead of full names, e.g. UN = the United Nations; PM = the Prime Minister; Lords = the House of Lords

· First names, diminutives and nicknames are used to suggest intimacy and informality (more commonly found in the tabloid press), e.g. 'Gazza' for Paul Gascoigne; 'Fergie' for Sarah Ferguson; ‘Di’ for Diana, Princess of Wales; 'Becks' for David Beckham


Grammar and Lexical Devices

This section has been written by Anna Tomczak and is taken from the Newspapers unit in British Studies Materials for Polish Teachers of English British Council 2000. In this section you will find activities to practise this kind of language which we cannot publish here for copyright reasons - you will find the book in the British Studies Resource Points. The headlines in English-language newspapers can be very difficult to understand. One reason for this is that newspaper headlines are often written in a special style, which is very different from ordinary English. In this style there are some special rules of grammar, and words are often used in unusual ways. Grammar Headlines may not be complete sentences. Many headlines consist of noun phrases with no verb e.g. More wage cuts; Holiday hotel death They often leave out articles and the verb be e.g. Man walks on Moon; Shakespeare play immoral, says headmaster The simple present tense is used instead of the present perfect or present continuous e.g. Blind girl climbs Everest (= has climbed); Students fight for changes (= are fighting) The present continuous tense is used to talk about changes. The verb be is usually dropped e.g. Trade figures improving Infinitives are used to refer to the future e.g. Hospitals to take fewer patients Auxiliary verbs are usually dropped from passive structures e.g. Six killed in explosion (= Six people have been killed) Vocabulary · Short words save space so they are very common in newspaper headlines. Some of the short words in newspaper headlines are unusual in ordinary language, e.g. axe = abolish, close down (Small schools face axe); bid = attempt (New Everest bid); mar = spoil (Crowd violence mars Cup Final) · Some words are chosen not because they are short, but because they sound dramatic, e.g. blaze = fire (Six die in hotel blaze); hit = affect badly (Snowstorms hit transport); rift = disagreement (Labour rift over defence policy) · Abbreviations are used instead of full names, e.g. UN = the United Nations; PM = the Prime Minister; Lords = the House of Lords · First names, diminutives and nicknames are used to suggest intimacy and informality (more commonly found in the tabloid press), e.g. 'Gazza' for Paul Gascoigne; 'Fergie' for Sarah Ferguson; ‘Di’ for Diana, Princess of Wales; 'Becks' for David Beckham